


Wing AU

by theonetruenorth



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare, Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Embedded Images, Fluff, M/M, Wingfic, Wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-19
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-08-09 20:20:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7815718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theonetruenorth/pseuds/theonetruenorth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time Alec ever feels self-conscious about his wings is the first time that Magnus sees them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I pretty much couldn’t get this idea out of my head ever since I’ve read [THIS](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6216079) short fic. It’s my spin on the author’s “all Nephilim have wings due to their angel blood” prompt.
> 
> …I’ve put way too much time into researching bird species.
> 
> Click on names to see other wings:
> 
> [Izzy](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lKJUWllvdYw/UgDzJH4Kc_I/AAAAAAAAAyU/WbZwqP186D0/s1600/_MG_7665.jpg) / [Jace](http://www.anabaptist.asn.au/files/anabaptist/bigstockphoto_White_Dove_In_Flight__976408.jpg) / [Clary](https://birdwildlifephotographyblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/roseate-spoonbill-extreme-makeover-alafia-banks.jpg?w=690) / [Maryse](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/7b/7b/b2/7b7bb29e389a674ae19fca7de61cd6d8.jpg) / [Robert](http://imgur.com/PLdS8zx)

Alec normally doesn’t think about his wings. They are a piece of him, something that is an integral part of his body, like every other limb. He neither likes them nor hates them. They are just... there. Usually they are hidden from sight, underneath the mark that stretches from his shoulders all the way down to the small of his back. Nephilim tattoos are not terribly accurate when it comes to the size and shape of the wings they are hiding underneath. Sometimes they don’t look like the real thing at all, which is why it’s so hard to know what kind of wings you’ll have before they actually grow.

Lightwoods have always had wings based on birds of prey, it has been that way for generations. His parents’ wings are very similar - his mother is an ornate hawk eagle and his father is a harpy eagle, both white with black stripes and spots in regular patterns. But while Robert’s coverts are black, Maryse’s are rich copper.

Alec has the wings of a barn owl. The top of each wing is a mix of browns and gray spots, scattered across the coverts in irregular patterns and the primaries and secondaries are ivory spotted with black. The underwing side is a solid off-white color with occasional black dots adorning the feathers like beauty marks. He likes his colors well enough - but they are nothing special. Izzy’s wings though, oh, they are spectacular - deep obsidian of a great black hawk, shimmering with every move. There was a time when Alec was terribly envious of her coloring. She likes to dye the tips of her primaries in different colors, much like she would paint her nails, and Alec shudders at the idea.

They are not sure what kind of bird Max will take after, but they all think he’s going to be a falcon of some sort. Max will have to wait until his twelfth birthday to find out. Alec remembers his birthday all too well, the first time his wings manifested. It was a little bit of a traumatic experience, to be honest. His parents didn’t exactly think to prepare him for the shock and pain that comes with their first appearance, for the blood that burst from his back and the way his bones _shifted_ underneath his skin. Alec made sure Jace and Izzy were ready for it, so their transition was a lot smoother than his. He teaches Max too, so that his little brother doesn’t get scared of his wings. After all, it’s only the first time that is painful and out of their control. Every other time after that is smooth and pain-free, the Nephilim magic calling the wings into existence, only a sudden added weight on their back suggesting that anything is different.

Jace’s wings are pure, with the startling brightness of a white dove, not a single imperfection on his feathers. When they finally manifest Alec is dumbstruck. And, despite them being covered in blood and mucus, Alec thinks that was the first time he felt something more for Jace than just a brotherly bond.

That, of course, didn’t stop him from giving Jace shit about them once or twice (or a dozen times), about how they made him look like a proper little _angel_. The teasing stopped once Jace snapped and socked him in the mouth, splitting his lip. He was still fairly new to the family, still so very angry and lost, and Alec knew he had pushed Jace too far. Jace apologized immediately, frightened by his own reaction but it was already forgiven.

(And if Alec was picking on him because the alternative was far too frightening, well, that was a secret he would take to the grave with him.)

 

****************************

 

Wings are a normal thing for shadowhunters. They are sometimes used as an advantage in a fight (Hodge is an expert in winged combat). At times they aid them in catching airborne demons, and sometimes they are just a means of a quick escape from a dangerous situation. They don’t usually use them for travel - it’s an exhausting exercise when there are other, less energy-consuming means of transportation. Some shadowhunters aren’t even capable of full flight - their wings too small or too weak, and useful only for gliding and sometimes not even for that.

Alec looks up in the air above the Institute where Jace is helping Clary get the hang of flying. Her wings are a shade of rose, the vibrant colors of a pink spoonbill. Her feathers are silk-soft and iridescent, shimmering in the light with dozens of colors. Hidden away by magic that her mother used to bind them within her and mask her tattoo, she only learned to call them out a couple days ago.

Alec was used to the idea of wings so he never felt that same joy and wonder, but now, listening to Clary laugh in delight as she manages to stay in the air for more than one minute at a time, he thinks that maybe there’s something special about them after all.

 

****************************

 

The first time he ever feels self-conscious about his wings is the first time that Magnus sees them.

It happens after a fight with a pack of shapeshifters. While no one was seriously hurt, they all have some scrapes and bruises. They separate after the patrol, Jace and Izzy heading back to the Institute, Alec going to Magnus’ apartment for their weekly date-slash-movie night. Magnus has made it his personal mission to make Alec watch all the movies he deemed worthy of their time, since Alec hasn’t seen a lot of them.

“Alexander, dear, you’re bleeding,” Magnus says after he greets him. Alec hadn’t even noticed the long, shallow cut on his right side, just underneath his ribs. It doesn’t hurt, but Magnus waves his magic at him anyways, the skin stitching itself together in an instant, leaving behind only a faint pink line.

His shirt is “beyond repair” though, torn and stained with blood, so Magnus offers him one of his own.

Alec strongly suspects Magnus is more than capable of fixing his shirt in less than a second but just wants to see Alec wearing his clothes.

Alec strips off his shirt while he waits for Magnus to find him something to wear, and he hears the sharp intake of breath. He turns around, only to find Magnus staring at him like it’s the first time he’s ever seen him.

And then, of course, he realizes that while Magnus has seen him shirtless before, it _is_ the first time that Magnus has seen his tattoo for more than a couple of seconds.

“Now that I see what you’re hiding here,” Magnus says with a smirk as he closes the distance between them and moves so he can stand behind Alec, “would you mind showing me?” He runs one finger down his spine, tracing the black lines and making Alec shiver. He pauses when Alec doesn’t respond. “I know some Nephilim don’t like showing their wings to anyone apart from family, so if it makes you uncomfortable...”

“It’s not that,” Alec protests. “It’s just that... they are nothing _special_?”

“Let me be the judge of that.” Magnus smiles, shifting so that he’s standing in front of Alec, his expression fond and curious.

Alec closes his eyes and focuses, feeling the angel blood inside of him call out to the magic that hides his wings. And then there’s a sudden shimmering pressure, and a familiar weight upon his back. When he opens his eyes again he sees Magnus’ look of wonder and astonishment.

Alec shifts uncomfortably. “I know they’re not much to look at--”

“Shh,” Magnus interrupts him and Alec’s mouth closes so fast his teeth click together. The warlock stretches a hand out, cautiously, stopping himself short of touching and looking at Alec again. “May I?”

And Alec isn’t really sure if he should allow it. No one apart from him and his family has ever touched his feathers. It’s a little intimate, putting yourself on a display like this and Alec has only experienced it when his wings have been hurt or when he’s needed help grooming them. Izzy usually took care of the hard to reach spots between his shoulders.

Still, he nods, not sure of what to expect. But Magnus’ hand is gentle as he runs his fingers along the downy feathers on the top part of his left wing, right over the main bone. Alec shivers at the sensation. He watches as Magnus takes in his fill, curious eyes studying the way the primaries and secondaries shine in the warm lamp light. When Magnus starts circling around him, Alec pulls his wings closer to his body for a moment to let him through and then unfurls them out again. Each wing is almost twelve feet long when fully stretched out - not the record wingspan (his father’s wings are over sixteen feet each) but large enough to be impressive.

“Oh, Alexander,” Magnus eventually says, still standing behind Alec, his hand lightly caressing the coverts. Alec gasps as those long, clever fingers dip between the feathers to press against the muscles, the touch sending a wave of warmth deep inside him, heat pooling low in his belly. “They are magnificent.”

“Shut up,” Alec laughs, his entire frame trembling with effort _not_ to stretch out like a cat and encourage more petting. “They’re not. You should see Izzy’s, or Jace’s.”

“I’m sure they both have pretty wings.” Magnus dismisses the thought as he speaks, his fingers now scratching lightly at the spot between Alec’s shoulder blades where the wings grow out of his back. Alec mewls at the sensation, immediately clamping his hand over his mouth, mortified by his reaction. Magnus smirks. “Sensitive?”

“You are a horrible, horrible man,” Alec mutters against his hand, the words barely recognizable and Magnus laughs, ducking under one wing to stand in front of Alec again. He takes Alec’s hands away from his mouth and presses a gentle kiss to his lips, pleased with the way that Alec melts into it.

“Not really a man.” Magnus smiles and lets his warlock mark show, his cat eyes shining, and he pulls the Nephilim down a little to nip at his chin. “And I caught myself a pretty little bird.”

Alec laughs at being called pretty or _little_ (of all things) and he shifts until he can press his mouth against Magnus’, his arms wrapping around the warlock’s waist.

His wings curl around them both, a subconscious move meant to cherish and protect, and for the longest while the only thing around them is the soft, warm cocoon of white and brown feathers.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another small headcanon set in the same universe as my previous wing!fic AU. Can be read separately but it makes more sense if you read it in order, hence I've added it as a chapter instead of a second fic.
> 
> I’m not even sure where this thing came from, really. I had a pretty bad week and I was feeling really sorry for myself and as the result I write angst and H/C fics?
> 
> I don’t even know.

“He’s going to be alright.”

Isabelle's voice came from behind him and startled Magnus out of his stupor. He looked back at her and immediately regretted it. The front of her navy blue dress had dark, almost black splotches on front. The unmistakable stains of dried blood.

Magnus turned back to look at the bed where his Nephilim slept and reached out to stroke one rune-covered arm, rubbing gently at the cold skin, wishing he could pour some warmth into him. Alec was resting on his side, still and pale in a way that forced Magnus to check if he was breathing every other minute or so. His left wing was hanging off the bed, but the right one was strapped closely to his body, the previously white bandages soaked through with red. 

“It was my fault,” Izzy whispered as she took a seat next to Magnus, her hand joining Magnus’ on Alec’s bare arm. “I wasn’t paying attention where I was flying and the Drekavac almost got me. Alec got between us just before it attacked.”

And the end result was Alec getting bit, the demon’s powerful jaws cutting through the wing like it was nothing, tearing up the muscles and shattering the hollow bones. Alec had plummeted to the ground and the impact only added to the injury.

Logically, Magnus knew it was an accident. Alec was bound to get hurt while on duty, but a tiny bit of resentment towards his siblings still lingered. He wished they would be more careful during patrols.

The wound was serious and extensive, but it would heal. Magnus knew that shadowhunters’ wings were extremely resistant to permanent damage. They were capable of recovering from nearly anything, short of tearing them off completely. 

However, there was one serious downside. The angel powers that granted the Nephilim their abilities protected the wings from magic. Not only from offensive spells, but healing magic as well. There was literally nothing anyone could do, since not even Iratzes worked on wing injuries. 

To make matters worse, Nephilim wings were sensitive and - based on what Alec told him before - they hurt more than any other part of their bodies. Magnus’ heart broke all over again when he realized that Alec was in for a long and painful recovery.

 

* * *

 

Magnus brewed two mugs of herbal tea and took them to the bedroom. Turmeric tea for Alec, to help with the pain and possible infection, and chamomile for him, to help him calm down. 

It’s been a couple of days since the disastrous patrol and Alec was still showing no sign of feeling better. When he’d finally woke up in the Institute infirmary all he’d wanted to do was go home, so Magnus portalled them back to his apartment without a second thought. He supported Alec’s weight as he led him to the bedroom, where another challenge presented itself in the form of furniture. Alec usually kept his wings hidden while indoors, the Nephilim magic pulling them underneath his skin and into the tattoo that spanned his back. Magnus took one long look at their four-poster bed and banished it away with one snap of his fingers. Alec would never be able to rest on it comfortably, not now. He wasn’t able to hide his right wing while it healed, and hiding just one left him terribly unbalanced. Magnus wasn’t going to risk his boyfriend tilting over and injuring himself further. Another snap of fingers summoned a new bed, a huge round one that could accommodate both of them  _ and _ Alec’s enormous wings. 

Since returning home, the younger man had spent most of the time in bed, his body exhausted with the prolonged healing process. Wearing a shirt was out of the question for the time being and any kind of cover felt like too much pressure on the injured wing. Magnus put the room into temperature stasis, just a tiny bit too warm for his liking, but enough to make sure Alec didn’t feel cold while he rested. 

When Magnus entered the bedroom with their herbal teas Alec was still in the same position he had left him in - stretched out on his belly, his arms underneath the pillow his head rested on. He looked asleep but Magnus could tell by the quick rise and fall of Alec’s chest that he was fighting through another wave of pain.

“Here, love,” Magnus crouched next to the bed and brushed his hand through Alec’s dark hair, “drink some of this, it should help a little.”

Alec opened one eye to look at him and then his gaze shifted to the mug. He sighed and shifted onto his side very gingerly, careful not to jar his injured wing too much. 

“We should change your bandages,” Magnus said as he looked at the binding that strapped the wing to Alec’s body and kept it immobile, “they are already soaking through.”

There weren’t many people that Alec trusted with his wings - only Magnus, his siblings, and his parents. Magnus was used to wing grooming by now - rubbing special oils into the feathers and re-aligning the primaries and secondaries when they shifted into weird angles. Usually it was a pleasant task, for both of them. Magnus took pleasure in knowing that Alec trusted him with such a vulnerable and important part of himself. The grooming process was slow and intimate, a calm and quiet moment between lovers. Magnus loved feeling the delicate feathers under his fingertips, how sensitive they were and how they quivered underneath his touch.

This, however, was far from that soft and sweet moment. This was all torn flesh, broken bones, and mangled feathers. Blood coated the light brown coverts, oozing sluggishly from the still healing wound. Alec had warned him that wings tended to bleed for far longer than seemed normal, but it was still an unsettling sight. 

Magnus made an unhappy, worried sound when a large patch of feathers fell out as he removed the bandages. They were dull and matted, old blood sticking them together in nasty clumps.

“Don’t worry about it,” Alec whispered as Magnus placed the fallen feathers on the bedside table, “they’ll grow back.”

Magnus’ mouth formed a displeased line. Alec was still doing his best to reassure  _ him _ even as every touch of Magnus’ hands brought him more pain. 

“I know they will,” Magnus answered, aware that excessive molting was part of the healing process, “but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

By the time he had finished changing the bandages and immobilized the wing once more, Alec was pale and shaking and his eyes were squeezed tightly. Magnus disposed of the soiled bandages and washed his hands, but not before placing the fallen feathers in a small wooden box in the bathroom. He would clean them up later and store them with all the other feathers that Alec had lost ever since they started living together.

Magnus never threw any of them out.

He climbed back into bed and with a snap of his fingers the lights in the bedroom dimmed, before going out completely. He tugged Alec towards himself and the Nephilim went willingly, curling into Magnus’ side with a small whimper of pain as he shifted the wrong way and put pressure on his injured wing. 

“Easy,” Magnus murmured, his lips brushing gently against the crown of Alec’s head as the younger man rested it on Magnus’ chest. His hand rubbed gently in between Alec’s shoulder blades, massaging right over the spot where the wings grew out of his back.

Magnus really, really wished that there was something else he could do to help, instead of feeling useless like this.

What was magic good for, if not helping those who held your heart?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is something I wanted to write for a long time anyways, but antagonists–anonymous gave me the prompt for wing grooming, so here it is.
> 
> On that note, Merry Christmas, everyone. I was planning on writing a fic for the occasion, but seeing as I don’t really like Christmas in the first place I guess I thought it’s going to feel forced?
> 
> So here you have this instead. It’s pure fluff and love and sun instead of the lousy cold weather we have right now (don’t let that GIF fool you).

He would never say it out loud, but to Magnus Alec sometimes looked like a cat.

A giant, sun-bathing, lazy cat.

Which was a little ridiculous but once that thought found root in Magnus’ mind, he couldn’t shake it off. The comparison seemed even more accurate now, as he watched Alec stretch out on his belly on the large daybed on Magnus’ balcony. The warlock could still remember Alec’s bewildered expression the first time he had conjured the daybed, but by now it had become Alec’s favorite spot for what they were about to do.

Alec was already shirtless, letting the sun warm up the tattoo on his back. The younger man looked so relaxed and Magnus grinned, knowing that by the end of their session Alec was going to turn nearly boneless under Magnus’ hands.

He sat on the edge of the daybed, placing the ceramic oil warmer on the table next to it and lighting the candle underneath it with a snap of his fingers. The sound made Alec open one eye and peer at him, his eyelids heavy as if he was close to falling asleep.

“Here, love,” Magnus said, placing a light hand over the small of Alec’s back, “you can let them out now.”

It always amazed him, no matter how many times he saw it. There was no shimmer of magic, no fading in from a different plane of existence. The wings were just suddenly _there_ , appearing out of thin air.

Alec always kept his wings close to his back at first, ever since that first unfortunate incident when he called them out and knocked down one of Magnus’ table lamps. But he let them unfold after just a moment and…they were _magnificent_. Magnus knew that Nephilim wings had to be large to carry their weight in flight, but Alec’s wings were impressive in their size. Each one was nearly twelve feet long when fully stretched out. It was said that the size of a Nephilim’s wings corresponded directly with the strength of angelic power coursing through them. Magnus wasn’t sure if that was true or not, but looking at Alec and his wings? He could certainly believe it.

Magnus hummed some random tune as he got to work. He started by gently stroking the skin between Alec’s shoulder blades, right between the spots where the wings grew out of his back. Alec sighed, turning his head slightly where it was pillowed on his arms to observe Magnus. The warlock moved to rub at the base of the wing and up over the top, feeling the strong muscles  underneath the coverts. The touch seemed to relax Alec even more and the slow, repetitive stroking lulled him into a semi-sleepy state where he didn’t have to think anymore. He could just enjoy Magnus’ touch and his careful hands and let his mind drift.

Magnus smiled as he noticed Alec’s eyes glazing over. The first time he did this to Alec he was a little surprised at how quickly his boyfriend went under. It became clear then why the Nephilim only trusted their family and closest friends with grooming - it would be so easy to hurt them when they were like this, so open and trusting and vulnerable. His heart had nearly skipped a beat when Alec asked him to groom his wings for the first time; Magnus was pretty damn sure no other warlock in history had had this honor.

Magnus dipped his fingers into the now warm cedarwood oil and spread it over his hands before burying them back in the soft feathers. Alec made a small, happy noise as Magnus massaged the sensitive skin covering the hollow bones. Magnus took his time rearranging the feathers that felt out of place or stuck out at weird angles, straightening them out slowly and with great care; rubbing the cedarwood oil into them and making sure they were smooth and pristine. Magnus really loved the feeling of soft, delicate feathers slipping between his fingers, the pleasantly tickling sensations of them gliding against him.

He took care of the left wing first and by the time he was done Alec looked like he was about to fall asleep. He looked pleasure-drunk, happy and relaxed. Magnus pressed a kiss to his shoulder before he moved around the daybed to reach the right wing. He took his time there and paid extra attention to the spot where the feathers were lighter and thinner, where the Drekavac demon had bit down on the wing and shattered it. It had taken nearly three months for the injury to fully mend and the feathers to grow back, and some of them still didn’t look quite right, but Alec reassured him that with more time they would be good as new.

When Magnus finished the wings were properly groomed and the feathers were shiny and smooth, layered over each other in perfect order. Magnus massaged the remains of the oil onto Alec’s back, where the tattoo would appear once the wings were gone. He extinguished the candle before turning back to Alec and ran a gentle finger along Alec’s cheek. The Nephilim responded with a sweet, sleepy smile and shifted a little until he was lying on his side.

“Oh well, if you _insist_.” Magnus rolled his eyes a little - just for show - and climbed onto the daybed to join his boyfriend. Alec didn’t hesitate to pull Magnus in close, and let one of his wings wrap around them both, until everything was warm and soft and lovely.

**Author's Note:**

> Every fic in this series is first posted to my tumblr and I upload it to AO3 with a delay. If you want to read my stories as soon as I finish them, follow me there: theonetruenorth.tumblr.com
> 
> Beta-read by [brizzbee](http://brizzbee.tumblr.com/)


End file.
